Shiny new toy and an experiment.

So yesterday was a pretty darn exciting day in our household. We'd gotten sick of Alltel and their heinous ways - who wants to pay $130 a month for a basic plan with internet on only one phone of the two on the plan and you still get charged extra for even using the internet? After having gone in to the store out in town and being told the same thing, "No, you cannot upgrade your plan, and no, we will not replace the crappy phone we gave you that we know is crappy with an updated model." We got sick of being mistreated and decided to go with another company all together.

Read: I nagged MarvMan shamelessly til he caved.

We decided to go with Verizon and - joy, of all joys - MarvMan agreed to smartphones! But not just any smartphones folks. BlackBerries. BlackBerry Storms.*

*Yes, I'm a member of the Almighty Cult of Apple. But I haven't heard good things about AT&T, and much as I might want an iPhone, I can't be trapped with a crappy company just for the sake of Apple. I'm still a loyal customer for everything else, though. Promise. (secret Apple sign of peace here)





I have been so insanely happy with this phone so far. I think I'm in love. And, of course, I got the pink silicone case for it. And while I can't get a decent photo of the screen itself, I can tell you that I got my theme from Themes4BB.com, which has proven to be an awesome site so far!










Really, there should perhaps be a law against being in love with your phone. But until then, I'm going to pose a couple questions for everyone:








What are your favorite mobile apps?
Best app for Twitter?
Games I will probably not want to stop playing?

I mean, if I can't stop playing on it in the first place, I might as well find some games to occupy my time as well!

#militarymon Tees? Fantastic!

Yes! Tees honoring #militarymon that also help a fantastic cause!

From: Milblogging.com

Bouhammer.com in conjunction with KissMyGumbo.com and Vision Strike Wear have developed and has for sale the very first Twitter-themed T-shirt honoring Military Monday, which is designated by the hashtag #militarymon.

The tees will be featuring the #militarymon hashtag on the front and this kick-ass graphic on the back:


If that wasn't freaking cool enough, when you purchase a #militarymon tee, you're also helping to raise money for an amazing cause, Project Valour-IT.

Project Valour-IT, in memory of SFC William V. Ziegenfuss, helps provide voice-controlled/adaptive laptop computers and other technology to support Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Marines recovering from hand wounds and other severe injuries. Technology supplied includes:

• Voice-controlled Laptops - Operated by speaking into a microphone or using other adaptive technologies, they allow the wounded to maintain connections with the rest of the world during recovery.
  
• Wii Video Game Systems - Whole-body game systems increase motivation and speed recovery when used under the guidance of physical therapists in therapy sessions (donated only to medical facilities).
• Personal GPS - Handheld GPS devices build self-confidence and independence by compensating for short-term memory loss and organizational challenges related to severe TBI and severe PTSD.

The experience of Major Chuck Ziegenfuss, a partner in the project who suffered serious hand wounds while serving in Iraq, illustrates how important these laptops and other technologies can be to a wounded service member's recovery.

Also, for a fun trivia fact, Vision Strike Wear, the awesome people who are making these tees available? They're Marine owned and operated! Awesomeness and benefits all around!

I ordered my tee - what are you waiting for? Click here to get your hands on this tee!

#militarymon

If you're not on Twitter, I'll fill you in. #militarymon is a hashtag. Hashtags are used to group topics in Twitter searches. Its heaviest use is seen on Mondays, as it is short for Military Monday.

Military Monday is a chance for everyone on Twitter to shout out to former and current active duty, retired, dependents, spouses - anyone associated with the armed forces.

It's a chance to express your gratitude to the people who have fought for your freedom, to thank and remember those who have died for that freedom.

To cheer on those currently serving, and to peek inside the lives of the husbands, wives, and families who stay behind on the home front while their loved ones serve.

It's also a chance to connect with other military supporters and swap stories, share inspirational quotes and songs. Link to blog posts and photos that we've all dug up.

Military Monday is such a beautiful thing. And yes, the gratitude and the spirit of the day is what matters most. I connected with some amazing new people over the past day or so while tweeting about Military Monday.

But can you blame me for being a little more than miffed when #nothingpersonal and the freakin' Bachelorette are trending higher than #militarymon? Come on, now.

So here's my challenge to you and to all my Twitter followers. Next Monday, July 13th, I challenge you to tweet something military related with the hashtag #militarymon at least once. If everyone could get every one of their followers to do it just once, maybe people will pay more attention to the topic.

Because on Twitter, more attention means more awareness. Awareness means support. And those two things - awareness and support - mean everything.

More motivation!

I posted yesterday about joining along with weight loss over at Mommatudes, and today I've found even more inspiration and motivation to get fit.


No, that's not me, but I wish it was! And it will be, soon! That gorgeous woman in the photo is Leah, creator of BookieBoo, a fitness hangout for moms! She's lost 100 pounds, and she's done it for her family.

I don’t do the exercise for me, I do it for my family. I’m a better mom and person when I’ve worked out. I’m more patient, loving, and of course have more energy. The days I haven’t exercised are like mornings without coffee…I’m an absolute shrew. I do it for them, and that is my motivation.

People say you should exercise for yourself and put yourself first, but I don’t believe that. I think some things are greater than you are…like your family. And they deserve it.
(original posting here)

I can totally identify. On workout days, I'm in such a better mood. It's only Day 3 of my own personal journey (you know, this time with feeling and commitment) and I can tell the difference, MarvMan and the girls can tell the difference. I'm getting myself in shape and my family is benefiting the most.

But creating Bookieboo isn't all Leah's done. Now she's launching MomActive radio, hosted by Leah herself and Fiona Bryant of The Bantering Blonde.

Tonight is a special night for MomActive, because there's going to be a Twitter launch party from 5-8 pm PST! Just go on over to TweetGrid and use the hashtag #bookieb and you'll be joining in the party! Tons of prizes and lots of great moms!

I'll be there - will you?

What in the world #fcubedpeeps?!

If you follow me and @oliveshoot on Twitter, you may have found yourself asking over the past week, "What in the world is #fcubedpeeps?" I am here to tell you!

First of all, I have to tell you that this idea is the brain child of Leslie and myself, and you really need to check her blog out as well.

Conversation came up last #FollowFriday about celebrities and other famous people that we'd recommend. I made the comment that if we did that, it would be a fairly short list. The amount of celebrities/famous people that actually get Twitter and use it as it was intended is a pretty small amount.

Now, before continuing further, I should note that the issue of celebrities being on Twitter has been discussed before. The lack of following back, lack of engagement - it's something that can upset Twitter users because Twitter is based on engagement and reciprocity. Others don't necessarily give a hoot and find their tweets entertaining. If you're one of the latter and don't enjoy a good lark now and again, this is probably not for you.

Regardless, we started nosing around, finding various celebs to follow and observe. We've been watching carefully and are preparing to begin releasing our lists for our first ever #fcubedpeeps! I'm super excited! We want to share celebs that we find to be worth the follow.

For those celebs who might be reading this post, and for those who want to add their own recommendations to the list, you may be wondering: What's the criteria?

• Reciprocity: Who do they follow back? We're understanding that maybe they don't adopt the same "follow everyone back" principles that many of us operate on. But are their only follows @PerezHilton, et al?
• Tweet Quality: Are their tweets interesting? Yes, we've got the usual eaters/sleepers. Maybe there's not enough time in the day other than to let the world know what you're having for breakfast and when you're crashing for the night. But hey, occasionally updating about what you're up to, giving us a more personal glimpse in your life, satisfying our inner voyeur - isn't that what Twitter's most basic of concepts is all about?
• Follower Engagement: Do they know how to @ reply to people? Do they thank people for RTs, comments on TwitPics? Replies to other celebs don't count in this category - we want interaction on levels that stretch deeper than that.

This is for everyone to participate in. Twitter is a community, and this little bubble of an idea is meant to be released into the Twitterverse, and will hopefully grow.

It should be mentioned that, insofar as we're concerned, these famous peeps don't have to interact with us (@linlori, @oliveshoot) directly. We're not @PerezHilton, we won't tear them down because we feel snubbed. Our focus is community participation on the whole. We won't actively advocate against anyone on Twitter - we don't want to discourage anyone. Rather, we want to acknowledge and send good vibes to those famous people who do get it.

All My Twitter Friends

Le sigh... I love Twitter.

Get your twitter mosaic here.